England fall just short against India in epic T20 World Cup semi-final – as it happened

That was modest of Samson, but if anyone else was going to pip him to the match award, it should have been Axar Patel. His fielding was phenomenal, first when he caught Harry Brook in the deep, running back, and then when, uncredited on the scorecard, he got an inspired assist for the catch by Dube that got rid of the tenacious Jacks. In a game of 499 runs, the winner is the team that fielded better.Never mind the players – I am now a spent force, so I’m going to collapse in a heap. Simon Burnton’s match report will be with you shortly

Aston Martin reveal fears over nerve damage will prevent F1 team from finishing Australian GP

Aston Martin have admitted that ­Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll will not be able to complete even half the race at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix this weekend for fear of suffering permanent nerve damage because of a vibration problem with their car.The team principal, Adrian Newey, who designed the team’s new car, said the drivers were suffering such severe vibration through the steering wheel that they would be able to ­complete 25 and 15 of the 58 laps respectively.“That vibration into the chassis is causing a few reliability problems, mirrors falling off, tail lights falling off, all that sort of thing, which we are having to address,” he said.“But the much more significant problem with that is that vibration is transmitted ultimately into the driver’s fingers.“Fernando is of the feeling that he can’t do more than 25 laps consecutively before he will risk permanent nerve damage into his hands

‘It’s a generous deal’: McIlroy’s surprise at Rahm not accepting DP World Tour offer

Dust was yet to settle on Luke Donald’s commitment to a third successive stint as Europe’s Ryder Cup captain when Rory McIlroy highlighted the elephant in the locker room.McIlroy, in a sentiment shared by other European players, finds it hard to fathom why Jon Rahm has not reached agreement to make his participation at Adare Manor next September straightforward. Rahm’s Ryder Cup involvement sits in serious jeopardy amid a dispute with the DP World Tour. McIlroy calmly warned that the biennial contest matters more than any single individual.In news first revealed by the Guardian on Wednesday morning, Donald will seek to back up successful captaincies in Rome and New York with Europe’s Adare defence in 2027

Finn Allen’s record ton blasts New Zealand past South Africa into T20 World Cup final

South Africa won every match they could afford to lose in this tournament and then lost the first one that they had to win.They were completely marmalised by New Zealand, who won the first semi-final by nine wickets. Finn Allen ripped through South Africa’s feared fast bowling attack, and hit an unbeaten hundred off just 33 balls. It was the fastest century in the history of the competition, and, as Allen said himself, the innings of his life. Only two batters have ever hit a faster ton in international T20 cricket

Formula One 2026: team-by-team guide to the cars and drivers

McLaren could start slowly, Mercedes may set the pace, while newcomers – and returning heroes – add huge interestCar MCL40 Engine Mercedes Principal Andrea Stella Debut Monaco 1966 GPs 994 Constructors’ titles 10 Last season 1st. Held their nerve to close out the constructors’ and drivers’ double last season, albeit with the latter going to the wire as they rather tied themselves in knots trying to be fair to both drivers. Enter this year a little off the front, but in a season likely to be marked by a fierce development battle will expect to exploit their huge strengths in bringing the car on with alacrity and be in the mix in no short order.DriversLando Norris (GB, age 26) car No 1 Debut Australia 2019 Wins 11 Poles 16 Titles 1 Last season 1st. After sealing his first title last year, Norris is enjoying a confidence in his own abilities like never before

Scotland hoping to party like it’s 1999 and thwart France’s title ambitions

The hosts must conjure the spirit of their last title triumph, 27 years ago, when the sides meet at MurrayfieldEven now, 27 years on, Kenny Logan still remembers how good it felt. Back in 1999, as this year, Scotland were title outsiders before a crunch fixture against the defending champions, France. Beneath a bright blue Parisian sky they gloriously ripped up the script with five first-half tries and, thanks to England’s late implosion against Wales at Wembley a day later, hoisted the trophy at Murrayfield in front of 15,000 fans on the Monday.For Logan, who landed five successful kicks on that famous afternoon, the timeless lessons of the story are twofold. The first is that Scotland have failed to win the tournament since; and the second is that, at times like this, fortune favours the brave: “When we went to France that year we took the game to them